“The fact that Berlusconi was angry is an excellent sign: as a general rule of thumb, if Berlusconi is unhappy about something, it usually means good news for the country as a whole.” From “Italy’s Young Prime Minister in a Hurry,” by Alexander Stille.

“They laugh because the world thinks that the metal grille keeps them caged in, but they feel that the bars keep the world out.” Casey N. Cep on the paradoxes of monastic life in “Inside the Cloister.”

“For a great many people, in the past and in the present, it is hard to resist the thrill of war fever, the excitement of ‘seriousness,’ and the call of history—the romance of the iceberg even as it sinks the boat.” From “Crimea and the Hysteria of History,” by Adam Gopnik.

Above: Russian soldiers walk near a Ukrainian military base in Perevalnoye. Photograph by Loris Savino.

Sign up for the daily newsletter.Sign up for the daily newsletter: the best of The New Yorker every day.